‘He’s going to build bridges,’ says Chomedey MNA, an early backer of the PLQ’s new leader

With Pablo Rodriguez now leader of the Quebec Liberals after a hard-fought campaign, Chomedey Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier says she is optimistic the former federal cabinet minister will be able to return the party to power in the next provincial election in October 2026.

Rodriguez won the race after two rounds of voting with 52.3 per cent support from party members at the June 9-14 leadership convention in Quebec City. His only other close contender was Charles Milliard who finished with 47.7 per cent support.

In his victory speech, Rodriguez talked about his background as an Argentina-born political refugee who arrived in Canada at age eight. His father was a human rights lawyer whose defense of political dissidents made him the target of one of South America’s most brutal regimes.

A Trudeau gov’t vet

Rodriguez was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004, representing the Honoré-Mercier riding in Montreal. As a senior member of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government, he held various ministerial positions in cabinet, including Heritage and Transport.

He left cabinet and began sitting in the House as an Independent MP in September 2024, after announcing he would be entering provincial politics and becoming a contender for the Quebec Liberal Party’s leadership.

Address convention attendees on June 14, Rodriguez called the new role the “honour of a lifetime,” while saying it was the beginning of new era for the Quebec Liberals and all of Quebec.

“We need to look toward the future, to build tomorrow’s Quebec for our children and grandchildren,” he told journalists.

Won’t run until Oct. 2026

Pablo Rodriguez has said that his intention is to wait until the 2026 election to run for a National Assembly seat, rather than running in a by-election sooner. But he still plans to put in appearances periodically as PLQ leader at the Quebec National Assembly building to give press conferences.

The effect of new leadership at the PLQ was already being felt within days of Rodriguez’s victory.  A Pallas Data poll conducted shortly afterwards showed a rise in voting intentions for the provincial Liberals at the expense of the currently governing Coalition Avenir Québec.

However, the Parti Québécois (PQ) was still leading with 31 per cent of voter intentions even though the Liberals under Rodriguez were not far behind at 26 per cent. The CAQ was in third place at just 15 per cent.

The previous Pallas Data poll, published in March 2025, put the Liberals at 22 per cent.

‘We preferred Pablo’

Chomedey Liberal MNA Sona Lakhoyan Olivier was among the earliest supporters of Pablo Rodriguez’s campaign to become the PLQ’s leader. In an interview this week with The Laval News, she said that of all the PLQ conventions she’s attended since her late teens when she first joined the Quebec Liberals, this one stood out especially for its positive spirit.

“It was joyful,” she said, while adding that she felt all the candidates were worthy. “But we preferred Pablo, of course. We’re really happy about the outcome because Pablo is going to be able to do a lot of things for Quebec.”

She described him as a “true nationalist Canadian-Quebecer who proved over and over that he’s got the leadership and has the talent of a great communicator. I feel that with his strong communicator skills he’s going to be able to inspire and unite Quebecers around the Quebec Liberal Party.”

Bridging federal and provincial

She believes Rodriguez will be especially well-positioned to build a strong rapport between the provincial and federal governments because of his extensive experience with the latter.

“He’s going to build bridges between Canada, all the provinces and beyond,” she said, noting that Rodriguez gained experience dealing with U.S. officials during Donald Trump’s first term as president, when Rodriguez played a key role in getting key legislation passed supporting Canadian media.

“Pablo Rodriguez was in that government that had to deal with turbulent relations with the U.S. at that time,” said Lakhoyan Olivier. “So, he should be able to find a solution to deal with Trump this time, too, because of his experience. He’s done it before.”

A polarized election?

Some political observers have noted that Pablo Rodriguez’s leadership of the Quebec Liberals may create a polarized political environment leading into next year’s election. They suggest his longtime association with federalism will contrast strongly with the separatist doctrine of the Parti Québécois, which currently leads the polls in Quebec voters’ intentions.

Lakhoyan Olivier sees this as a theme that may emerge next year as a challenge to the province’s voters.

“People have to decide between clinging to ideology – separation referendum and all its negative consequences – or better quality of life by giving the PLQ a majority government,” she said. “That’s the real question we need to ask ourselves.”

Lakhoyan Olivier, who is the PLQ’s official critic for tourism in the party’s most recent shadow cabinet, said Rodriguez had convened a special gathering of the PLQ caucus in the coming weeks, at which time new shadow cabinet appointments will be discussed with all the caucus members.